Travelers on the Orphan Train

Travelers on the Orphan Train

by | Aug 20, 2025 | General History, Plymouth, Railroad

In 1892, Plymouth was a stop for an “orphan train” that transported thousands of children. They came from the streets of New York and New England to new homes in the Midwest. From 1854-1929, nearly 4,000 orphans, ranging from ages 1 to 12 were brought to Indiana. All together almost 250,000 “little waifs” climbed aboard the orphan trains and headed west in search of a family. They got off the train with name cards pinned to their clothing. Many were orphaned not only by the death of a parent, but because of poverty and neglect, and would have died on the streets. The image above features the New England Home for Little Wanderers of Boston. Rev. H.S. Kimball, an agent of the home, preaches at the M.E. Church in Argos.

Who Took In Travelers from the Orphan Train?

Children from the orphan trains were placed in homes depending on the needs of prospective adoptive parents. Sometimes their own child had died and they were seeking to expand their family. Some older couples needed someone to look after them, or a farm family needed an extra pair of hands to help with the chores. Some of the agricultural families believed the abandoned children should work to “earn their keep.” Sadly, some siblings went to different homes. The orphans were at the mercy of their adoptive families.

Locally, 26 orphans found permanent homes in Marshall County from the New England Orphan’s Home, although the supply didn’t meet the demand for these kids. “The children were the objects of considerable attention,” according to an edition of the June 1892 Plymouth Democrat. The orphans, gathered at the Methodist church in Plymouth, hoped to win the hearts of a new family. The would-be foster parents could specify exactly what they wanted. For instance, a blue-eyed blonde female, or a sturdy red-headed male. Some orphans were luckier than others. Many were placed loving homes with caring families, but others lived a life of hard farm labor. It seemed a bit callous, but “beggars couldn’t be choosers.” Although every situation was unique, adoption was perceived as better than life on the streets.  

Young boy posing for image with hand on table

The Good and the Bad of Adoption

One of the grown-up orphans that made her home in another state, Jesse Martin, said that being an orphan train rider taught her to have more understanding of people’s pain. She never felt like she fit in. She said the children at school would say, “No one cares for you, not even your own mother!” She says she simply became grateful for the kind people along the way.

Not all these little wanderers had such an unhappy experience. Many found good homes and received the best of care. One particular child caught the eye of a new parent that was grieving from the loss of their own. According to an article from the 1990 Herald Banner, (Greenville, Texas) Helen Hale Vaughn said that her mother would become very angry at anyone who referred to her as their “adoptive” daughter. Whenever Helen would come home broken-hearted, her mother would embrace her and say, “You just remember, we chose you, and they were born to their parents, so they had to have ’em!”  

The Legacy of the Orphan Train and Its Travelers

Some of the orphans given an opportunity for a new life prospered and flourished in their new environment. Many orphan train children went on to live long productive lives and were able to enjoy their grandchildren, and many times great-grandchildren. They weren’t looking for fame and fortune, but a better life and “to love and be loved!” The orphan train provided a means for these children to have the will to go on and made survivors out of them.

For more specific information on the local impact of the orphan train, visit the Marshall County Museum and enjoy the research done by Christopher Chalko who spent time collecting data, newspaper articles and personal letters of people that actually rode the orphan train. It’s interesting reading material that is a part of our history in Marshall County and across the United States.

The Edgerton Basket Factory

The Edgerton Basket Factory

by | Aug 14, 2025 | Agriculture, Business & Industry, Plymouth, Railroad

One of the most successful early businesses in Marshall County was the Edgerton Basket Factory. Ease of transportation is critical for growth of trade. And Marshall County, being a crossroads, was attractive to businesses looking for a home. One such was Edgerton Manufacturing, which grew to become the LARGEST BASKET FACTORY in the entire country. Baskets were crucial shipping containers for agricultural products, and Edgerton Baskets were the gold standard.

Peak Volume in 1910

In 1910 alone, 1,632,892 baskets were created. That’s enough baskets to line the road from Niles, MI, to Bloomington, IN, ROUND-TRIP, and still have 45 miles of baskets left over.

At one time, Edgerton offered thirty-nine grades of baskets in 178 different sizes!  Some of these sold as low as thirty cents per dozen, and others as high as $106 per dozen.  This translates to $9.23 to $3,621. per dozen today. There were shipping baskets for fruits, vegetables, crackers, candy and coffee; carrying baskets for coal, lime and cement; round baskets for feeding and cotton picking; reed, splint and diamond weave baskets for clothes; bamboo, splint and diamond weave baskets for delivery, market, display, crockery, satchels or lunch, fancy waste hampers, and all kinds of laundry baskets.

Advertisement for Edgerton Baskets

Local and Imported Woods

The wood varieties used included oak, elm, beech, maple sugar, basswood, poplar, cottonwood, gum, sycamore, ash, hickory and other kinds.  The company imported 55,900 pounds of rattan from Germany at a cost of five cents per pound. Sadly, Edgerton Basket Factory closed their doors in 1939.

Women employed at Edgerton Basket Company

Ahead of Their Time

Edgerton was unusual for its day in that they actively recruited and employed women and offered insurance as an employment benefit. Just one example of some forward thinking by county residents. A child labor law was passed in 1897 and in May Edgerton discharged all those under the age of fourteen.  It was reported that there were less than a dozen under that age.

At the Marshall County Historical Society Museum, we have the “warning whistle” which was sounded before the startup of the main engine so that anyone working on the line-shafting had time to get down safely.  We also have several beautiful examples of Edgerton baskets. Stop at the front desk the next time you visit and ask to see them.

Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button?

by | Jul 11, 2025 | Pastimes

Pile of vintage buttons

At the MCHS Museum, we have been delving into our storage areas and taking a compete inventory. Some of the interesting things we find spark the desire to know more about our items. What is the history and usage, and of course, any fun facts about our collections.

Buttons are an ever-present part of our lives. Most of us remember the fun of pouring over the selection in grandma’s button tin. There is something a little charming about old buttons.

The word button is from the French word “bouton,” meaning bud or knob. The oldest button found was in modern day Pakistan. Made of curved shell, it was most likely used for decorative, not utilitarian use.  Francis 1st of France (1494-1547) had 13,600 gold buttons on a single coat, which he wore when meeting King Henry VIII of England.

The more utilitarian use for buttons started in 13th century Germany when the buttonhole was introduced. Button use grew to include fastenings for shoes, tunics, and coats. The fashion at the time was for clothes to be form fitting, so buttons made it easier to fasten the clothing snugly.

As time went by, the variety and value of the material used made buttons a symbol of wealth and prestige. Metalsmiths crafted elaborate buttons with insets of ivory, tortoiseshell, and jewels. In 16th century France, button makers’ guilds started to appear. These guilds regulated the production of buttons and passed laws regarding their use.

Traditionally, men’s garments wrap from the left to right with the button on the right side. This is because most men were right-handed and they dressed themselves, whereas servants dressed wealthy women. Placing the buttons on the left made it easier for the servant facing the buttons while completing the task. Most women were right-handed and held their babies in their left arm to nurse, and access was essential.

Pre-colonial buttons were often made of shell, horn or ivory. Other common buttons were fashioned of bone and wood. These readily available wood buttons were also used as foundations for fabric covered designs. Embroidery was often used to dress up fabric buttons. Examples of these types of buttons are harder to find because of deterioration.

In the 1800s, metal, pearl, and ivory largely replaced fabric as the button material of choice. Pewter was used to make molded or stamped-out buttons. Still popular today, cast brass buttons with ornamental designs were used on both military and civilian dress.

Glass has been used to make buttons since the 18th century in Britain. Black glass buttons were popular during the Victorian era. They were fashioned to imitate the expensive black jet buttons worn by Queen Victoria after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. Most glass buttons made during the 20th century were made by skilled button makers in today’s Czechoslovakia. Between 1918 and 1939 popular styles of glass buttons included pictorial and cut crystal styles.

By the mid-Victorian era, the pearl shell trade had reached its height in London with some 2,000 tons of shells being imported in 1859 from the East. By the 1890s there were over 200 factories and 4,000-5,000 people employed in Birmingham.

In the mid 1800’s, American manufacturer John F. Boepple discovered that the bend of the Mississippi River near Muscatine, Iowa, caused shells to accumulate, creating perfect conditions for mother of pearl making. He began to use the less iridescent freshwater shells found in the area to make his buttons. At production peak over one-third of the world’s pearl shell buttons came from the freshwater mollusk shells from this area.

The pearl shell industry declined during the 20th century partly due to the over-fishing of the pearl shell itself, and the end of the importation of pearl following both world wars. Also affecting the industry was the advent of cheap, mass-produced plastic substitutes.

Button-down collars were invented for an interesting reason. Going for a horseback ride with your shirt collar flapping at your face is annoying, as these collars were originally attached separately. Buttoning the collars in place was a perfect solution, especially for polo players. In 1896, Brooks Brothers offered these as the original polo shirt.

Stop in anytime and see the collections that tell the story of Marshall County.

 

Culver’s African American History

Culver’s African American History

by | Jan 31, 2025 | Clubs & Organizations, Culver

Above: fascinating photo of Culver’s “Cafe Society” pictured in the 1940s. The group was an African American social club which gathered in various homes. Pictured, from left: (seated) Thelma Hodges, LaVeda Pierce, Elsie Byrd and Adelaide Weaver, and standing, unidentified couple, Morsell (Bob) Hodges, Smoke Pierce from Michigan, Charlie Weaver, Ace Byrd, Roy Scott, and Roy Lear. The youth is unidentified. Photo courtesy Thelma Moorehead.

Culver’s history includes a rather unique presence and influence from its African American populace. A glance at early 20th century Culver High School yearbooks reveals a black populace integrated into Culver’s public schools and a part of the community of Culver, a somewhat unusual set of circumstances for a small Indiana town at that time.

Culver’s African American community had its roots in the origins of the Culver Academy, founded by H.H. Culver in 1894. When the only moderately successful school boosted its attendance by merging with students from a St. Louis military school that burned to the ground, there followed a contingency of black employees to Culver from the same St. Louis school. Being the era that it was, African Americans were primarily employed in service roles: domestics, waiters, custodians and the like, and Culver was no exception.

The heyday of Culver’s African American community was primarily between the 1920s and 1960s, after which older residents — retiring and with no reasonable jobs to replace the fading domestic and service jobs that had attracted black workers for decades — remained or were moved away by grown children who had found employment elsewhere. According to many residents of the day, Culver’s African American populace, which tended to be more middle class and educated, were fairly integrated into the community at large.

The Culver Military Academy, nearly from its outset, employed black help on its grounds. Perhaps most visible was its ongoing group of African American waiters. Today’s Academy students are accustomed to a cafeteria-style buffet dining experience, but until the late 1950s, meals were served to cadets by African American waiters, the leaders of whom became well known and beloved to many students and faculty over the years.

Some of these individuals become iconic members of the community, particularly the Academy community. Roy “Sheep” Scott held court at Culver Academy for decades in a number of roles, including overseeing the janitorial staff. He also became an unofficial “counselor” to students, many of whom adopted him as a beloved confidant and sounding board for any number of personal and academic problems. Scott, as was true of many of the long-term African American staff at CMA, was a resident of Culver for years, living on the south end of town. His daughter Thelma returned from a teaching career with her husband Bob Hodges and became one of Culver’s more prominent citizens until her death in 1990.

Thelma, an antiques collector, became manager of Country Cousins Antiques on the west side of Main Street in downtown Culver and taught antiques classes at Ancilla College. She was also active in local politics and real estate, and was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church, where her funeral was held in 1990.

Home Made Remedies

Home Made Remedies

by | Jan 18, 2025 | Agriculture, Family Stories, General History

Quite often something really interesting surfaces as we go about our preservation and archiving efforts. A paper turned up recently with hand-written remedies (and gardening advice), mixed with a couple of newspaper clippings from 1912. There is also a recipe for apple butter! I have included it, but don’t count on it for a cure for anything but dry toast. Please note that these recipes are written as found.

  1. Cure for pneumonia or lung fever: Chopped onion.  Vinegar and graham flour.  Put on stove and heat.
  1. Rheumatism cure: Aunt Clara Barlow.  Iodide of potassium 15ç worth in ½ pint water.  Take 1 tablespoon before meals.
  1. Rheumatism bladder trouble: Fluid extract dandelion ½ oz.  Compound Kargon (a commercial prescription) 1 oz.  Compound syrup of sarsaparilla 3 oz.  Take 1 teaspoon after each meal and at bedtime.  “Is all right for I have taken it.”
  1. Yellow jaundice: Go and get south running water and take one egg.

First day dose:  Take one part of the white of the egg, beat it up with 3 tablespoons of the water and drink it.

Second day dose:  Take another part of the egg white and beat it up with 3 tablespoon of the water and drink.

Third day dose:  Take the last part of the egg white and beat it up with 3 tablespoon of the water.

Use the same egg each day.  The white is in three parts.  And take one part each day.  Sure cure.  1912.

  1. Sore throat cure: Strep throat:  1 qt. hot water.  1 tea. soda.  1 tea. salt.  ¼ tea. carbolic acid.
  1. To keep bugs from melons and pickles: Take a moth ball and break in two and put in bottle around hill.  Or also plant an onion in hill.
  1. To make good apple butter: Boil 30-gallon cider down to 12 or 13 gallons.  Put in 16 gallons sliced apples, few at a time, until all in, and then boil 3 or 4 hours down to about 9 or 10 gallons.  Add 12 ½ lbs. granulated sugar.  Cook until sugar is thoroughly dissolved.

Here is cure for poison ivy that never fails: boil one-half pint of shelled oats in water until the water is real dark.  Then wash the poisoned parts with the water.  It does the work without any pain.  M. L. B., Clark Co., Ind.

Sand and sawdust make a good bed for flowers like the rhododendron, which require an acid soil.

My Coal-Oil Cure-All by S. E. Bandy.

Coal oil (kerosene) is a commodity found in every farm home, yet its many uses and benefits are known only to a few people.  I have saved many a fine watermelon patch from destruction by the striped beetle by mixing coal oil and wood ashes – one part coal oil, by measure, to twenty parts ashes – and putting it on the hills around the roots of the melons.

The coal oil must not touch the vines, and one large spoonful to a hill is sufficient.  The bugs will depart immediately.  It should be repeated after each rain.

A handful of coal oil and salt mixed and dropped into each mole run will cause them to change their location.  A peck of lime thoroughly mixed with a gill (one quarter of a pint, or four ounces) of coal oil and spread lightly around the early cabbage plants will prevent the cutworms from destroying them.  When it is hoed in later, it seems to act as a fertilizer.

With coal oil I cure scaly leg in chickens by applying it directly with a feather.  I also find a mixture of coal and lime used generously around over the chicken house will prevent mites.

We do not recommend trying these remedies at home, but as always, we find that our ancestors were hardy and ingenious people. Our archives are full of the stories of incredible people, and we love to share. Stop by the Museum anytime! Our hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 until 4.